As a new semester begins at the University of Richmond, there is one familiar face that students, faculty and staff will not see on campus this year.

After 35 years of advocating and helping to support underrepresented students at the institution, Dr.Tinina Cade retired from her most recent post as associate vice president for student development and director of the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion (SCEI) in February.

“When I first got here, during the day, I was visiting schools to recruit Black students, and in the evening, I was meeting with students individually to support them,” she said. “There were so few people of color back then.”

Today, the university recognizes the importance of diverse perspectives from Black, Latinx, Asian and LGBTQ students, and students with disabilities. But those voices have not always been present or heard on the campus.

As she worked to diversify University of Richmond’s student body through recruitment, Dr. Cade built an infrastructure of support to help students once they arrived on campus. She established the Academic Skills Center to keep students on track academically; the Oliver Hill Scholars program to provide mentorship; and the University of Richmond BlackAlumni Network (URBAN) to build a community for students once they graduated, and other programs. But Dr. Cade’s commitment to students extended beyond the appointments on her calendar or just workday hours.

Kimberly Bowers Rollins, a 2005 graduate of the university now working as a fundraising consultant in Northern Virginia, said Dr. Cade was always accessible and a woman she wanted to emulate.

“Dr. Cade poured so much into my own personal college journey,” the married mother of two said. “She was there for us through relationships, made sure we had our hair done — whatever we needed to make it through our college journey.”

Dr. Steve Bisese, vice president of student development at University of Richmond and Dr. Cade’s supervisor, said she was a combination of caring and real-world practicality.

“She felt it was her responsibility to teach students what it was going to be like when they left UR,” he said. “A phrase I often heard her say to students facing a challenge was, ‘Sweetie, come see me.’”

Dr. Cade, herself the mother of three children, said the nurturing aspect of her personality extends to everyone around her. Perhaps the most profound act of love and nurturing came in 2005 when she decided to carry and deliver triplets as a surrogate to her daughter and son-in-law, Drs. Camille and Jason Hammond. She successfully carried and gave birth to her three grandchildren, and the Hammonds started the Tinina

Q. Cade Foundation the same year the triplets were born. The foundation offers information, support and grants to help couples who are struggling with infertility.

Mrs. Rollins joined the board of directors of the foundation at age 22, and kept in touch with the family over the years. When Dr. Cade’s retirement was announced in November 2021, Mrs. Rollins worked with Dr. Hammond to establish a scholarship fund at University of Richmond to honor Dr. Cade’s legacy.

When the campaign began in January, the organizers had six weeks to raise funds before Dr. Cade retired. University

and other donors delivered, raising more than $80,000 in time for her retirement.

Dr. Cade is proud and grateful for the success of the fundraising effort, and also proud of how well the university’s students do once they leave UR. “I’m so impressed when I see people giving back,” she said.

Although she is retired, Dr. Cade said she has made it clear to students that she remains accessible to them. “I told them that I won’t be at UR, but I’m still invested in them and their success,” she said. “I’ve told them, ‘If you find yourself going through a difficult time, the email is the same.’”

While it has been months since Dr. Cade left UR’s 192- year-old campus, Dr. Bisese said he will forever miss his colleague and friend.

“If you needed advice or an opinion on anything, she always had her door open,” he said. “I miss walking across the hall and seeking her wise counsel and I will miss that until the day that I retire.”